


broken glass beneath my feet

by LailaLiquorice



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Other, Past Abuse, tw for discussions of emotional abuse and mentions of sexual assault
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-05-15 08:47:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19292308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LailaLiquorice/pseuds/LailaLiquorice
Summary: The moment when Anne realises her relationship with Henry was worse than she ever thought. But she'll never have to go through it alone.





	broken glass beneath my feet

It had been Kat’s idea to watch the documentary. During the course of her therapy sessions she’d done a lot of research into toxic relationships and their red flags, eagerly aided by Parr who was more than happy to have a research buddy whenever Kat asked for her help. The documentary was one that Cathy had found recommended online, narrated by a psychologist who specialised in the more hidden signs of abusive relationships that both the victim and their friends often overlooked. Initially Cathy and Kat were just going to watch it themselves on a day off, but when Kat mentioned their plan over the dinner table one night it quickly turned into a family film night.

Nights around the TV screen weren’t uncommon in the queens’ house, so there was a routine that they all fell into as soon as the dinner table was cleared. Jane and Kat brought the blankets down, Anna rearranged the living room so they could all sit comfortably, Cathy set the film up, and Aragon made the hot chocolate since she was best at it by far. Anne’s duty was snacks; once she’d raided the cupboards she ended up with two bowls filled with popcorn and chocolate buttons, deaf to Aragon’s complaints that the two weren’t meant to be mixed. Sandwiched in between Aragon and Cathy on the smaller that definitely wasn’t designed for three people, Anne hugged one of the snack bowls to her chest as Kat started the documentary.

At first Anne had been keen to learn more about what had captured her cousin and friend’s interests so much. But as the psychologist continued, Anne’s smile faded and her shoulders grew tense. Everything that the psychologist listed felt so terribly familiar. She’d known that his jealousy and accusations of infidelity had been wrong, since it was included in her song so she spoke about it frequently in a negative light. But then there were the other things; his disinterest in her own thoughts and feelings, her necessary attempts to work out what mood he was in and walking on tiptoes to avoid angering him, his threats if she dared disagree with him and the horrific arguments that usually followed.

It was when the documentary turned towards the topic of sexual assault that Anne really felt dread settle in her stomach like a stone. In the corner of her vision she saw Jane drape an arm around Kat’s shoulders on the other shoulder, whispering something in her ear as Kat watched the screen with an unbothered look on her face. Anne, on the other hand, felt like she’d just been flung into space where even Aragon and Cathy on either side of her felt miles away.

She’d never considered it before. She knew what Kat had been put through, knew what that was. But remembering how he’d backed her into a corner, blackmailed her with her stupid promise that she could provide what Aragon had never been able to… it was like someone had thrown a bucket of cold water over her head.

When the documentary finished, Anne found herself unable to drag her eyes away from the now-black screen. She could hear the other queens discussing things in the background, Kat mentioning what points she’d done most research into with Jane and Aragon praising how much progress she’d made. Anna’s dry comment about Henry ticking every box made Anne flinch though, and an unexpected hand on her shoulder startled her enough that she did a second time.

“Hey, it’s just me,” Cathy said as Anne looked over at her, a worried furrow in her brow. “Are you ok? You’ve gone very quiet.”

Anne nodded quickly, painfully aware of all the other queens looking at her. “Yeah, yeah I’m just fine,” she said, before the eyes on her started to feel like daggers in her back and she shoved her snack bowl into Cathy’s lap. Kicking the blanket off her legs, she managed to stammer out “I’m just- I’m just gonna go,” before she sprinted out of the door and up the stairs.

Silence followed her departure, with everyone looking at each other in both confusion and concern. “Was it the film, or was she upset before?” Kat asked, glancing upwards as Anne’s retreating footsteps sounded from the attic stairs.

Aragon shook her head worriedly. “She seemed fine when we were both in the kitchen.”

“I’m going to go up and check on her,” Cathy said; Anne confided in her frequently about her lingering trauma from her death, so knew that she stood the best chance of Anne talking to her about what was going through her head that had caused her to leave.

But she paused when Jane shook her head, giving Cathy a sad smile. “No. I think I should take this one.”

* * *

 

Anne had barely made it into her room before her knees gave way and she collapsed to the floor with a hard thud. There was no Cathy there to catch her that time around, but with how much her skin was crawling Anne didn’t think she’d be able to handle anyone’s arms around her in that moment. Her thoughts were racing with scenarios from her old life, reassessing them in a new light with everything that she’d just been told.

Back then she’d accepted everything that had happened. The dismissal of her own interests was just the price of marrying a King; his volatile nature was just due to his temper and the way he’d always been; their arguments were her own fault for not knowing her place. And his constant demand for sex after Elizabeth’s birth was just because he was so desperate for a son. That was what she’d always believed, but according to Kat’s TV psychologist that was no excuse. Her hands shook as she dragged them through her hair, hunching over as her scar started to throb.

She didn’t hear the quiet knock at her door, only looking up slightly as she registered the footsteps rushing across her bedroom. “Cathy?” she croaked, unsurprised that she’d followed her up the stairs.

“It’s me, love,” sounded Jane’s voice instead, just before her hands were on Anne’s arms in what was clearly meant to be a comforting gesture.

Immediately Anne jumped away from her touch, backing away frantically until she hit the wall. “Please don’t touch me,” she choked out, tears rolling down her cheeks at the sight of Jane recoiling in shock. “Sorry,” she whispered, “I’m really sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, it’s not your fault,” Jane said soothingly. She shuffled backwards to lean against the bed wither her hands folded in her lap, giving Anne the breathing room she desperately needed. “Will you tell me what’s wrong? Everyone’s worried about you.”

Anne sniffed, roughly wiping a hand beneath her eyes before gripping her shoulders tightly. “I don’t know,” she started, her gaze darting around everywhere except Jane’s eyes. “It was too familiar. Everything she said, I just kept thinking of when Hen- when he’d done something like that. I thought it was just we didn’t work well together, I never thought that he might of… I dunno.”

“Might have abused you?” Jane finished softly, and Anne gave a shallow nod. “Oh sweetheart, I’m so sorry. You didn’t deserve to be treated like that. It wasn’t your fault.”

“Like obviously I knew that him killing me was… was abuse I guess,” Anne continued, one hand moving to her neck as she glossed over her beheading. “I thought that was it though, didn’t realise that everything had been bad. Which is stupid because we all talk about it in the show and I know he was awful but there were still some memories where he was nice to me. And now I dunno if he was just pretending to manipulate me.”

Jane nodded, and Anne finally forced herself to look into her understanding eyes. “It’s made you question every interaction you had with him,” she guessed.

Anne’s expression crumpled as she hugged herself tighter, mumbling a broken “Yeah.”

There was quiet for a moment as Anne fought to get at least some of her composure back. Jane’s hands were twitching in her lap as if she was desperate to wrap her up into a hug, but Anne was grateful to her for respecting her request for space. The first time anyone had ever done that. As if Jane had read Anne’s mind, she caught her eye before speaking in a serious voice. “Anne, sweetheart, if he ever crossed your boundaries or did anything without your consent then that wasn’t right. It doesn’t matter what he said, nothing excuses that. Ok?”

“Yeah,” Anne repeated. After a moment she looked back up at Jane from where her gaze had fallen and asked “Why’re you here?”

“Because I understand,” Jane said, and Anne blinked in surprise. Jane shifted uncomfortably for a moment as she added “I know I know, I was the ‘only one he truly loved’. But he would still scream and shout at me, I knew what could happen to me if I didn’t have a son. Somehow I loved him despite it all, but I don’t think I would now. Because he still twisted me around his finger. I’ve still had to come to terms with how he emotionally manipulated me, just like he did all of us.”

Anne listened silently as Jane talked, watching her through wide eyes. Even though Jane’s lines in the show made a clear reference to how he’d been no different with her to how he’d been with Anne and Aragon, she’d never really considered how Jane suffered before her death. The only real difference was that Jane had just let him walk all over her in order to avoid Anne’s fate.

When Jane spoke again, her voice sounded perhaps the most hesitant that Anne had ever heard it. “And I’m also here because I’m sorry. For adding to your suffering. I could have done more to avoid him and stop him from wanting me instead, but I didn’t. If I’d known that my interference would have caused your death then please believe I would have done anything to stop it.”

Anne was quiet for several seconds. It was true when she’d first been reincarnated that she had held onto her resentment for Jane, unable to separate the woman she was now with the one who she’d walked in on sitting on the King’s lap while she was pregnant for the fourth time. But then she shook her head. “S’alright,” she said, smiling half-heartedly as she met Jane’s gaze. “If it wasn’t you it would’ve been someone else. And Cathy’s right with what she says in the show, if you’d said no you might’ve suffered worse. I don’t blame you.”

“Thank you,” Jane said quietly. After a lengthy pause, she continued in a stronger voice “Do you want to talk about what was said in the documentary? Whatever you need to get of your chest, I’m here and listening.”

She hesitated for a split second before the words started pouring out of their own accord. “I never wanted to marry him. My sister was his mistress but I didn’t want anything to do with him, I wasn’t a temptress or a witch or anything like that. I didn’t ask for this. And when we were married he was even worse, threatening me for telling him my opinion and accusing me of lying to him all the time. Sometimes I’d be awake wondering if I really was flirting with other people because he seemed so sure of it, I started to doubt myself.” Her voice hitched as a fresh wave of emotion caught her off guard, remembering with such clarity the nights she’d laid awake beside him questioning her every comment.

“That sounds like it was definitely abuse, love,” Jane said, softly yet seriously. “Cathy and Kat will know more than me but it certainly sounds like gaslighting, if he was making you question your own judgement.”

“Yeah, yeah that was what it was like,” Anne nodded, hot tears spilling down her cheeks.

Jane’s expression was one of kindness and sympathy as she looked at Anne. “Perhaps you should think about seeing a counsellor too. Kat’s found it really helpful and it might help you now that you’re realising things weren’t as you thought they are. No-one’s going to force you into it, but I think it’s something you ought to consider.”

“I kinda have thought about it,” Anne mumbled. “I- err- I get night terrors too, and Cathy thought it could help with that. She said she’d go with me if I wanted her too.” She paused for a moment before adding “I’m still thinking about it though. Dunno if I’m ready yet.”

“Even just thinking about it is a really big step,” Jane said, a touch of pride in her voice that made Anne smile a little. “Just do everything at your own pace, and we’re all behind you.”

Anne nodded again, rubbing her eyes before she asked hesitantly “Can I have a hug?”

“Of course you can love,” Jane said, opening her arms just before Anne moved forwards to fall into her embrace. She didn’t cry, feeling empty of tears after how many she’d cried already, just clung onto Jane and let her tight hold ground her from where she still felt so unsettled. The gentle hands stroking her hair made Anne’s eyes fall shut, feeling safe at last from everything she’d just realised in Jane’s motherly embrace.

Footsteps on the staircase made Anne look around towards the door, just in time to see Cathy peering in at them. “Can we come in?” she asked quietly, and Anne was about to ask who ‘we’ meant when she saw Aragon’s worried face over Cathy’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” Anne said, sitting down next to Jane as Cathy and Aragon joined them on the carpet. Instinctively Anne shuffled over to lean into Cathy’s side, resting her head on her chest to hear the faint thrum of her heartbeat just as she did whenever she had a night terror or panic attack. Cathy responded by draping an arm around Anne’s shoulders and placing the other hand on her knee, too busy looking at Anne to notice Aragon watching them with an air of maternal pride.

“Kat and Anna are downstairs, they didn’t want to crowd you in here,” Aragon said after a moment, and Anne nodded. She paused again for longer before adding “In the show, when I say that you only suffered in the last five minutes of your marriage, I don’t mean it at all. You’ve got every right to be angry and upset by how he treated you. Please know I’m not trying to minimise your suffering.”

Anne smiled at Aragon’s thoughtful words and the genuine concern on her face. “It’s alright, I know,” she said quietly, feeling Cathy’s arm tighten around her shoulder as she continued. “Sorry for running off. I just, I dunno, didn’t realise it was as bad as it really was.”

“It’s ok,” Cathy murmured from above Anne’s head, the sheer volume of non-judgemental kindness in her voice making Anne sink further into Cathy’s safe embrace. “None of us are angry, we just want to make sure you’re ok. That’s all that matters.”

Jane hummed in agreement. “We’re all here for you sweetheart. Whatever happened then or now, we’re always here with you, ok?”

Anne nodded. With three of her friends surrounding her and two more waiting for her to return downstairs, she knew she’d never have to be alone with her bad memories and was safe from her history at last.

**Author's Note:**

> I think everyone who’s been though Some Shit, be it a terrible childhood or a toxic relationship, has that moment where it suddenly hits you that it wasn’t right. You normalise stuff when you’re in the middle of it, and in my experience it wasn’t until I was away from the situation and someone else pointed it out that I realised how bad it had been. This is that moment for poor Anne. I’m glad we’re all talking about the abuse she suffered too, and I’m bringing in Jane while we’re at it because her dialogue before HoS has some heavy implications.
> 
> I rated this as teen and up for the abuse and rape discussions but please let me know if you think it should be rated mature, I really wasn't sure. EDIT: this has been up for 5 mins and I changed it to mature to be safe.
> 
> I'm lailaliquorice on tumblr :)


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